This invention relates to an apparatus for use by emergency medical personnel to secure a patient or accident victim to a temporary transport means, such as a backboard or a gurney. More particularly, it relates to a restraint device which is particularly adaptable to secure accident victims of varying sizes to backboards at the scene of an accident for transport to a medical facility.
As a result of the Korean and Vietnam wars, the quality of emergency medical care in the field has dramatically increased survival chances for persons injured in, e.g., automobile accidents. Ambulance, fire department and hospital personnel responding to such calls very often find the need to transport the injured victim some distance between the injury site and the ambulance or other transport vehicle. For this purpose, rigid backboards or wheeled gurneys are typically utilized. The patient must be affixed to the temporary transport means in order to avoid rolling off the backboard or gurney and further exacerbating the injuries.
For years such temporary transport means were provided with a number of straps permanently affixed to their sides, most typically three straps: one at the shoulders, one at the abdomen, and a third at the knees. In many instances, it was found that the placement of these permanent straps was inconvenient, if not hazardous, in that the patient may be unusually small (an infant), large (either in height or girth), or have a wound or injury which should not be compressed by the fixed-in-place strap. U.S. Pat. No. 4,151,842 discloses a body splint/litter device having a plurality of fixed straps, located at the head, shoulders, abdomen and knees of the patient.
Of course, not all temporary transport means are/or were provided with such straps. U.S. Pat. No. 3,889,668 discloses an emergency medical harness which permits an accident victim to be secured to a half-backboard, as at the site of an automobile accident. The device comprises a plurality of straps 12, 14 and 16 spaced laterally from one another, but secured together by webs 18-22 at points 30. In this manner, a net-like upper torso restraining device was created. The device is especially intended for use with a rigid backboard having a plurality of slots 40-45 through which the straps 12-16 were threaded. Shoulder 50, 51 and hip 62, 63 straps were also provided.
While the device of U.S. Pat. No. 3,889,668 certainly functions adequately for a portion of the intended patients, a problem arises when the backboard upon which the patient is to be secured does not have slots in the precise position where the straps of the device are located. Because the straps are secured a fixed distance from one another by the webs, they cannot be moved an appreciable distance to a non-aligning slot. There are a number of different manufacturers of backboards and gurneys, and there is not a recognized standard for the placement of hand-holds or other apertures into which the straps of such a harness may be affixed. Additionally, if the patient has suffered a severe abdominal wound, it may be advisable to forego use of the device to avoid further injury to the patient.
Because every second in such emergency situations is critical to increasing the survival chances of the patient, it is necessary that some indicia be provided to indicate when the harness is in a "right side up" position, and therefore can be readily affixed to the temporary transport means. If, as disclosed in the '668 patent, Velcro.RTM. brand fasteners are used to affix the harness to the backboard, the harness can only be properly affixed in the right side up position. If the harness is placed on the patient "wrong side up" the hook-and-pile regions of the strap will not mate without first twisting the strap. herefore, the device must be removed, turned over, and rethreaded, through the slots.
Therefore, there is a need for a patient restraint device which is adjustable to accommodate differing patients as well as differing transport means. There is also a need for a patient restraint device which is color coded so that it will be immediately apparent which side of the restraint device is "right side up".
Therefore, a general object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved patient restraint device which is adaptable to various size patients, various injuries and differing brands of temporary transport means.
A specific object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved patient restraint device having moveable straps securing the patient to the temporary transport means, and a device which is color coded to insure proper placement of the device on the patient the first time.